Each presence had its respective characteristic trait. By condensing the presences into a clump, they collided with each other, resulting in thunder.
Boom!
'In terms of presence, we're on the same level.' KalTara thought. His greatest strength was his Astral Chart, which multiplied his presence by many levels. However, the natural build of the Wean Clansmen wasn't harmonious.
As a result, KalTara could never reach a State of Harmony. What he reached was through the Natures in his Astral Chart, which was different.
Similarly, Narkahamy didn't have Astral Chart. However, his Natures were in harmony with each other, which was what gave him the boost to contend with KalTara's presence.
'I was hoping for him to be slightly weaker, but it's not the case.' Narkahamy's expression morphed slightly, 'We're equal, huh?'
'Then, let's…' Just as he prepared to attack, Narkahamy noticed that KalTara too had the same thought.
Nature—Prana Shock!
KalTara didn't budge from his spot. Instead, a shockwave coursed into the rock ground through his legs and transferred inside. The shockwaves ruptured a portion of the ground and broke it off from the rest.
Following that, the shockwaves caused the cut-off piece to tremble. And then, a powerful shockwave sent it up a metre into the air as KalTara kicked it. At the moment of impact, shockwaves blasted out of his legs and sent the boulder propelling towards Narkahamy.
As if they had read each other's minds, Narkahamy too had repeated the same actions, kicking a boulder at KalTara.
Blessed Influence—Condensed Shock!
It was created using the Nature of Prana Shock at the centre while being accompanied by four Natures of Statue. The Nature of Statue stiffened up the body and its functions to make it resemble a sculpture.
Shockwaves travel through solids the fastest, followed by liquids and finally, gases. Using the power of Status, Narkahamy was able to transmit the shockwaves of Prana Shock through his body faster.
When the shockwaves were released through air, their effect was the same as using Prana Shock normally. However, when it was released into a solid, it was many times more potent, which Narkahamy took advantage of.
The boulder he formed wasn't just bigger, but he also managed to kick it at faster speeds. Moreover, at the moment his leg touched the boulder, the shockwaves generated from the impact coursed through his body.
From his right leg that launched the kick, the shockwaves travelled to his left hand as he slapped the boulder coming his way. The shockwaves slammed into the boulder at their strongest and turned the latter into over a hundred pebbles.
Boom!
The boulder that targeted Narkahamy shattered without being able to budge him. However, the boulder targeting KalTara, even though it shattered in a similar fashion, his attack was launched a beat later.
A portion of the boulder's momentum transferred to him and caused KalTara's figure to slide backwards by a couple centimetres.
The expressions of the Wean Clansmen fluctuated in response, seeing their Leader come out slightly inferior in the first exchange. The Free Humans of the Varahan Empire, especially the soldiers who had fought on the frontline and witnessed the Boar King in action were in a state of shock.
"His Majesty is…strong!"
This, singular emotion coursed through them, exploding into pride as cheers erupted across the crowd. Most of them didn't have the eyesight necessary to notice KalTara's body sliding backwards by a couple centimetres.
Considering the sheer distance between the audience and the combatants, even majority of the Wean Clansmen couldn't notice this. However, it was noticed by the Quip Clansmen. And they were the ones commentating to relay the information.
"The first interaction; The Wean Clan Leader slides back by a couple centimetres while the Varahan Emperor remains staunch in his spot!" Kenka Echo did his part as the anchor to explain the details of the exchange to the audience. However, at this moment, all the Quip Clansmen, including him, were trying their best to hide their shock.
After all, both KalTara and Narkahamy had employed a Quip Clan ability to destroy the boulder.
Mystic Royal Art—Resonant Shock!
A Quip Clansman gathered Prana into their throat to generate a shockwave which they coursed through their body and released it through the point of contact. The shockwave was released in the natural frequency of the target body, resulting in the maximum frequency of oscillations in the molecular structure of the target and brought about its collapse.
Mystic Royal Art—Piezo Resonance!
Through this Skill, a Quip Clansman could instantly perceive the natural frequency of a target body, whether animate or inanimate. By relying on this combo, all Quip Clansmen engaged in close combat, when absolutely necessary.
Typically, they stayed afar and targeted with ranged attacks, their speciality. However, when they were forced into close combat, the Skill of Resonant Shock came in clutch.
Kenka Echo was shocked because both KalTara and Narkahamy had employed their Prana Shock to follow the same mechanism as the combination of Piezo Resonance and Piezo Shock. It was a tough combination to pull off mid-battle, and at the bink-of-an-eye speeds they had done so.
'The fact that we rarely use this combo and despite that, these two leaders have grasped it enough to pull it off seamlessly as this means…' He refrained from showing it on his face, but Kenka Echo was incensed, 'It seems they took advantage of the chaos to kidnap some of our brethren.'
Many Quip Clansmen had become casualties during their expansions through the wilds for various reasons. And as forces that relied on Natures, both the Wean Clan and the Varahan Empire had captured some Quip Clansmen to investigate their abilities.
That information was then compiled and developed extensively, resulting in the exceptional skills the two leaders had displayed, 'Damn them!'
Most of the Quip Clansmen grasped the situation at hand and quickly activated Mystic Royal Art in an effort to control themselves. They couldn't afford a war against both the Wean Clan and the Varahan Empire simultaneously, unless they wished to reveal the existence of the Zinger Representative.
But doing so might push the two conflicting sides towards a truce, which was an outcome the Quip Clan didn't wish to see.
'Smile, for the bigger picture.' Kenka Echo let out a mild Zinger Shriek in frequencies only Quip Clansmen could hear.
This whole analysis happened in a matter of three seconds. In that timeframe, KalTara and Narkahamy exchanged five attacks, all of which leaned in Narkahamy's favour.
"Fuoh!" KalTara exhaled sharply as he stared at the ground and observed that he had skid backwards by a while foot now. He lifted his head and noticed Narkahamy hadn't budged the slightest. He promptly changed his strategy. 'In a direct exchange, I'll be inferior to his Blessed Influence. But first, let me grasp the full extent of his skill level.'
Nature—Shredded Lunge!
KalTara moved diagonally and stopped past Narkahamy. Strangely, the wind blades generated at the end of Shredded Lunge appeared from a point before he reached the end of his lunge. They were launched vertically and targeted Narkahamy from an angle different from his expectations.
Shredded Lunge released wind blades at the end of the lunge. Therefore, Narkahamy was expecting to be targeted by them based on the endpoint of KalTara's lunge. However, when they suddenly appeared from the midpoint of the lunge, he was stunned.
Blessed Influence—Manoeuvre!
It used two Natures of Shredded Lunge at the centre and was surrounded by six Natures of Prana Shock, which were primarily used to disperse the wind blades to generate thrust at the foot and aerodynamic winds across the body.
This way, with the least air resistance, and accompanied by the thrust at the legs, Narkahamy travelled forty metres, twice the usual lunge distance of Shredded Lunge. He had activated it in a hurry, observing a mild tear in his clothes as the aerodynamic wind that also doubled as a shield was pierced by KalTara's attack.
'I didn't expect such an angle!' Narkahamy failed to understand how the effect of Shredded Lunge could be twisted as such. 'The wind blades are only generated at the end of the lunge. That's how Shredded Lunge works.'
Even in his Blessed Influence of Manoeuvre, his movement was split into two parts. First was the lunge, and second was the boost in his jump from the wind blades which he used to reinforce his movement. There were speed differences between the two parts, which was noticeable to even the Silver Grade Free Humans in the audience.
'It makes no sense that he could twist a Nature's functions like this.' Narkahamy frowned in mild alarm as he used the Blessed Influence of Manoeuvre a second time, eyes widening upon seeing a gash had formed on his shoulder now. 'How?'
KalTara had launched the wind blade right from the start of his lunge, 'Can he freely vary it?'
The duo lunged across different positions on the battlefield, shadowing each other to make advantageous movements and assume the high ground. Five exchanges later, a droplet of blood trickled down Narkahamy's shoulder.
He had been targeted at the same spot in the last four iterations, enough to overcome his healing abilities and draw out a droplet of blood.
"The Varahan Emperor is the first to shed blood!" Kenka Echo hollered as the Wean Clansmen roared in response.
'In terms of skill, I'm superior!' KalTara thought at the end of the exchange and promptly reacted when Narkahamy lunged at his spot. His pupils contracted in alarm to notice Narkahamy's lunge distance was only as much as a regular Shredded Lunge, 'There's no wind blade being generated!'
He hurriedly moved spots and observed that a wind blade was still not being generated. He expanded his Prana detection means and perceived a crescent-shaped clump of Prana orbiting Narkahamy.
'You're indeed superior in terms of Skill. But let's see if you're versatile enough!' Narkahamy promptly changed his Blessed Influence of Manoeuvre by adding two Natures of Eddy Blade and five Natures of Satellite into it.
Blessed Influence—Orbital Wind!
He lunged at KalTara and watched the latter evade in a hurry, smiling in response.
'Damn!' KalTara became serious upon detecting that a second wind blade had begun to revolve around Narkahamy, 'What has he done?'
"T-This…is…INSANE!" Kenka Echo exclaimed upon seeing the exchange, "We're witnessing the peak usage of multiple Natures here, everyone!"